Sean Tuohy
Character Analysis

Sean Tuohy is a coach at Briarcrest at the time when Michael Oher enrolls there. A self-made millionaire (he owns a chain of Taco Bells), Tuohy was born into a poor family and gradually worked his way up to success, playing basketball for the University of Mississippi and later going into business. In The Blind Side, he’s probably the person most responsible for helping Michael Oher achieve success as a football player, with the notable exception of Leigh Anne Tuohy, Sean’s wife. Tuohy recognizes Michael Oher’s talent and helps coach him throughout his time at Briarcrest; he’s also instrumental in arranging meetings for Michael with head coaches from elite Division I colleges, ensuring that Michael will be able to go to college tuition-free, with room and board included.

Sean Tuohy Quotes in The Blind Side

The The Blind Side quotes below are all either spoken by Sean Tuohy or refer to Sean Tuohy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the W. W. Norton & Company edition of The Blind Side published in 2007.

Chapter 3
Quotes

By the time [Sean] met Big Mike, he had a new unofficial title: Life Guidance counselor to whatever black athlete stumbled into the Briarcrest Christian School. The black kids reminded him, in a funny way, of himself.

Sean knew what it meant to be the poor kid in a private school, because he’d been one himself.

From his place on the sideline Sean watched in amazement. Hugh had called a running play around the right end, away from Michael’s side. Michael’s job was simply to take the kid who had been jabbering at him and wall him off. Just keep him away from the ball carrier. Instead, he’d fired off the line of scrimmage and gotten fit. Once he had his hands inside the Munford player’s shoulder pads, he lifted him off the ground. It was a perfectly legal block, with unusual consequences. He drove the Munford player straight down the field for 15 yards, then took a hard left, toward the Munford sidelines.

Sean Tuohy Character Timeline in The Blind Side

The timeline below shows where the character Sean Tuohy appears in The Blind Side. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Chapter 3: Crossing the Line

After school, Michael Oher sits in the stands and watches basketball practice. The basketball coach, Sean Tuohy, notices Michael. Sean is a self-made millionaire, but unlike most rich people in Memphis,...
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Sean sympathizes with black students at Briarcrest, partly because they tend to be the poorest students—growing...
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One day, during practice, Sean asks Michael Oher what he ate for lunch that day, and asks him if he...
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Chapter 4: The Blank Slate

...field, Michael Oher is adjusting to his new life, thanks largely to the help of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy. The Tuohys, especially Leigh Anne, gave Michael emotional support; moreover, they...
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...Michael claims, his mother lives. The house looks deserted, however. The next day, Harrington tells Sean Tuohy about the situation, and Sean realizes he needs to look into it.
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...the Tuohys’ house (he’s so big he barely fits on the couch). He bonds with Sean Junior, the Tuohys’ young son—they play video games for hours at a time. Leigh Anne...
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...as much food as possible. He’s also a neat freak, which pleases Leigh Anne greatly. Sean notes, “It was like God made a child just for us: sports for me, neat...
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...and Tim Long (a former lineman for the Minnesota Vikings), are amazed by his size. Sean Tuohy also coaches for the team. On the first day of spring practice, Tuohy, Freeze,...
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...mystery. One day, he falls to his knees in the middle of practice, and tells Sean, “My dad died.” Just before practice, Sean learns, Big Tony had called Michael and told...
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Chapter 6: Inventing Michael

While college football coaches fall over themselves to court Michael, Leigh Anne and Sean have doubts about Michael’s football future. Michael is dependent on Leigh Anne and Sean for...
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At school, Collins Tuohy, Leigh Anne and Sean’s daughter, notices that Michael is becoming more outgoing—he no longer looks at the floor all...
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Chapter 7: The Pasta Coach

At the end of 2004, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy become Michael Oher’s legal guardians. They send out a Christmas card including Michael, and...
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...a hint about where he’ll play ball. Michael receives so many calls from coaches that Sean and Hugh Freeze have to designate a special phone-answering time of the week. Michael becomes...
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...gets a call from Collins—there’s been an accident. Leigh Anne learns that Michael, while driving Sean Junior out to play basketball, hit another car. She finds Michael in the middle of...
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...the end of his long visit, Fulmer walks outside with Michael, and Leigh Anne and Sean notice that he and Michael talk for a long time. Fulmer drives away, and Michael...
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Sean Tuohy, worried that Michael has decided to play for the University of Tennessee, is sorely...
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After the press conference, Michael and Sean Junior play miniature baseball. In Sean Junior’s room, there is a framed bloody basketball net,...
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Chapter 8: Character Courses

...asks Michael about his siblings; Michael replies without hesitation that his siblings are Collins and Sean Junior. When Sean Tuohy repeats the questions, Michael names six biological siblings, then slowly thinks...
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Thompson asks Michael how he came to live with the Tuohys. He explains that Sean Tuohy understood his situation, since he, too, grew up poor. Sean listens to his adopted...
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...and says that he’s only studying so that he can play football. However, Sue and Sean find ways to make learning fun. When teaching English, Sue brings up the poem, “The...
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...She proceeds to ask Michael the same questions she asked him a month ago, with Sean in the room. Sean becomes angry when Thompson begins asking Michael about his correspondence courses....
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On July 29, Sean sends the results of Michael’s correspondence courses to the NCAA, and shortly afterwards, the NCAA...
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Chapter 10: The Egg Bowl

...a freshman. The assistant coach, George DeLeone, focuses on teaching Michael the plays, remembering what Sean had said about Michael being a visual learner. DeLeone is skeptical that Michael will thrive...
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...most everyone at the school drinks heavily. However, Sue Mitchell is still his tutor, and Sean and Leigh Anne have built a second house for themselves, less than a mile from...
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...his mother for driving a stolen car. For unclear reasons, the police also arrest Michael; Sean guesses that they do so because of racism, pure and simple. Even when he’s at...
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...the entire ordeal Michael has remained loyal to his adopted family. He doesn’t believe that Sean and Leigh Anne were manipulating him. He looks at his phone and sees that Sean...
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Meanwhile, Sean Tuohy gets a call from Coach Orgeron, who explains that the little boy who got...
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...Fulmer also spends time scouting football practices at Briarcrest, where he notices other promising players. Sean Tuohy continues to help out with the Briarcrest football team, though he’s furious that Briarcrest...
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